City Councilor Colin F. LePage. (Jay Saulnier photograph for WHAV News.)
Haverhill City Councilors are continuing to look for ways to regulate the advertising of marijuana, particularly ads aimed at minors.
Last month, Councilor Colin F. LePage met with state representatives in Boston, hoping for a state-wide ban on marijuana and alcohol billboard advertising. As yet, there has been no progress on that proposal but LePage says it is still very early in the process.
The councilor was successful last year in convincing Clear Channel Outdoor, a billboard advertising company out of Stoneham, to remove a marijuana related billboard at the corner of Essex and Locust Streets in Haverhill. However, City Solicitor William D. Cox Jr. says the issue becomes complicated because of first amendment rights and because some of the advertisers aren’t actually in the business of selling pot.
“What advertiser are you talking about? Are you talking about a licensed establishment or are you talking about a company like Weedmaps which just sells information? That’s what they sell,” Cox said.
The councilors all expressed a desire to, at least, find some way to keep those billboards away from schools and school bus stops.
In a related matter the council introduced a proposal that would force vaping stores to be located in areas zoned for adult entertainment only.